Conventional turbine vane inner supporting systems generally comprise at least two distinct components, namely a retaining ring for circumferentially and radially restraining the vanes and a retaining plate for holding the vanes axially in place. Furthermore, a separate baffle plate has to be provided for controlling cooling air flow between the turbine vanes and the adjacent turbine rotor. As gas turbine engine size decreases, the cost, weight and tolerances of such a multi-part assembly becomes significant.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a new turbine vane support, which provides cost, weight and tolerance savings.